


VRAINS Fall

by FullmetalDude1



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Computer Viruses, Coughing, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Fanart, Mind Control, Multi, Slow Burn, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:27:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24474274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmetalDude1/pseuds/FullmetalDude1
Summary: It started with a cough....A zombie apocalypse descends on LINK VRAINS, with avatars being infected left, right and center. The infected Duelists can't log out and don't want to log out, preferring to stay and spread the virus. SOL Technologies quickly lose control of the situation and the people are trapped in LINK VRAINS again, their log out buttons disabled and many running for their lives.LINK VRAINS once again needs it's heroes to step up to the plate and step up they will. The Knights of Hanoi, Playmaker's group and a few other rouge hackers work together to help where they can.But even the mightiest heroes fall and there are none mightier than Playmaker.....AKA, the Virus Playmaker fic I've been dying to write because I love "I Know You're In There Somewhere" Fights, so expect that in later chapters.
Relationships: Ai | Ignis & Fujiki Yuusaku, Fujiki Yuusaku/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	VRAINS Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been a vague concept in my drafts for a while after I saw Magi's art. Then I saw Miramisaki's art and decided, screw it, I'm writing and posting the first chapter today at least. Hopefully I'll be able to write more after this. I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Miramisaki's art: https://miramisaki.tumblr.com/post/177952179157/may-i-humbly-present-for-your-consideration
> 
> Magiertama's art: https://twitter.com/magiertama/status/1172234146183340037/photo/1
> 
> If you do, let me know.

_It started with a cough._

Unknown walks the LINK VRAINS streets, his avatar altered enough to avoid the Playmaker fans everywhere, but doesn’t look so much like his true self that anyone would recognise him, like Brave Max. He’s searching for his target, a rogue member of the Knights of Hanoi who’s been attacking Playmaker impersonators and fans when he could. He’s changed his avatar and Unknown is having trouble discerning who he is while Ai subtly scans the crowd.

Unknown narrows his eyes.

Where could he be?

Someone started coughing right next to him, temporarily distracting him.

“You’ve had that weird cough for weeks man, what the Hell?” Someone in a red power ranger outfit says.

Their friend dressed as a shark scoffs. “I don’t get why I cough in LINK VRAINS, bro. We’re avatars here, we’re not supposed to get sick or ill.”

Unknown narrows his eyes. The shark is right.

Why would people cough in LINK VRAINS?

“I found him.” Ai stage whispers from his Duel Disk.

Unknown nods. “Put a marker on his account so we don’t lose him again.”

“Already on it.” Ai giggles.

Unknown sees one of the avatars blinking red and nods, heading towards it. He forgets about the coughing for the rest of the mission.

_But the cough continued._

Akira narrows his eyes. “Seriously? This is how many people have been reporting this cough? And it’s only now on my desk?”

“I, well, we thought it was a hoax.” Hayami murmurs. “I’m sorry Zaizen.”

Akira resists the urge to sigh and passes her back the report. “I want the accounts and people who have complained about a cough examined immediately. We can’t allow this issue to continue.”

“Yes sir!” Hayami scurries off.

Akira tries to tell himself it’s nothing and things should be okay.

But he can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.

_It was given the chance to develop._

Blue Angel laughs as she Duels her opponent. “And with that, it’s game ov-”

Then he disappeared.

Blue Angel gasps, pausing Holy Angel’s attack. 

She can imagine the announcers and the crowd grumbling in confusion. Where’d her opponent go? Did he surrender? Did he log out? Was he extracted?

Then he appears again, coughing and heaving, on his knees.

“What’s wrong?” Blue Angel calls. “Are you okay?”

He coughs more and sits up, visibly shaking. “I… I don’t know. I glitched out and I couldn’t see the logout button!”

Blue Angel narrows her eyes. Why would he glitch out? Why would the logout button disappear? What’s happening?

A few days later, SOL Technology’s statement was on every banner across LINK VRAINS.

_We understand that some avatars have been experiencing technical difficulties as of late. We are updating our systems and some old model Duel Disks may be struggling to keep up. Please update your systems and ensure you have the appropriate virus protection on all your devices._

People downloaded the new systems and the virus protections they were suggested.

“Are you still getting reports of coughing in LINK VRAINS?” Aoi asks over dinner that evening.

Akira shakes his head, smiling at her. “All gone, as if they had never been sent in the first place.”

Aoi lets out a breath of relief and continues to eat her dinner, at peace.

Across the city though, Yusaku carefully looks at the avatars who sent in reports of coughing before the update.

An arm rests on his head. “Yusaku, why are you still awake?”

“I don’t trust that it’s over.” Yusaku taps away at his old laptop. “There has to be some common thread as to why these Duelists became ill in LINK VRAINS.”

Something has to be up.

“What, you think it’s going to be like the Another Virus again?” Ai gulps, sliding his arm down to hug Yusaku just under his arms. 

Yusaku nods. “That’s a possibility.”

LINK VRAINS is a virtual world where people don’t get sick. It doesn’t make any sense for the avatars to grow ill or for so many of them to do so.

Ai sighs and touches the off button. “Well worry about it in the morning. You need to sleep.”

Yusaku turns to scowl at him. “I hate you.”

Ai laughs and picks his laptop up. “No you don’t.”

Yusaku rolls his eyes but he does settle under the covers. Maybe it is nothing and he’s just being paranoid. Maybe for once things will be fine.

For a day, things were fine.

Then for another day, things were fine.

Three, four, five days passed since the update and Yusaku started to let it go.

_A week after the update and everyone had forgotten about the coughing and glitching._

Soulburner smiles as he rides around LINK VRAINS, watching the other avatars. Children are playing and running around, while other older avatars watch over them. A few teenagers are Duelling one another in flashy avatars and mighty monsters. Peace is in LINK VRAINS for the first time since Yusaku brought back the other Ignis, along with Roboppi.

“I’m glad that things are finally getting back to normal around here.” Soulburner declares with a grin.

Flame chuckles as he pops out of his Duel Disk. “Indeed. Perhaps you can take Miss Kiku on a date around here?”

Soulburner splutters and nearly falls off his board. “Flame!”

Flame laughs-

“FUCK!”

Screams and crying break out down below, making the Soulburner narrow his eyes.

“Let’s investigate, Flame.” Soulburner turns his board around.

Flame nods.

The two dive nearer to street level and see one of the Duelists from earlier on the ground, coughing and wheezing.

His friend is next to him, shaking him. “Buddy, buddy! What’s wrong?! Tell me, please?!”

The coughing Duelist dry heaves, gasping for air.

“What’s happening to him?” A panicked witch whispers.

A centar pulls her back. “Don’t get any closer!”

The rest of the crowd instinctively back away.

Soulburner makes his landing. “What’s happening?”

“Soulburner?!” The other Duelist gasps. 

Soulburner walks a little closer. “What were you guys doing before your friend started coughing?”

The friend stammers and gasps. “We, we were just Duelling, I just beat him and then he just-”

The Duelist on the ground suddenly vomits out something utterly disgusting, making Soulburner jump back as he gasps an “oh jeez”, the Duelist sitting up and gasping for air.

“Buddy!” The friend gasps, cradling him. “Are you okay? Speak to me!”

Flame glares at the mess on the ground. “That’s just gross. What is wrong with you humans?”

“Flame, that’s not normal.” Soulburner scoffs. “What is it?”

It’s some kind of black… dark purple substance that’s glowing, pulsing bright pink.

Flame examines it critically. “I don’t kn-” Then he gasps. “Soulburner, get back!”

Soulburner follows the instruction, jumping on his board, while Flame throws out some red sphere-

The substance lets out an unholy shriek and jumps before Flame’s firewall could get it, landing on the Duelist who spat it out, making him howl and scream. His friend screams and backs away from him, trembling and shaking. The substance rushes all over the Duelist, starting at his chest over his heart, spreading in jagged, lightning shaped lines, infecting the Duelist’s Deck, his left eye turning hot pink and his iris black-

The Duelist stops screaming.

He stands up.

“Move.” Flame mutters.

The Duelist looks around in confusion, eyes landing on his trembling, shaking friend. He grins with a mouth full of shark’s teeth.

“Duel.” The Duelist raises his Duel Disk.

The friend screams as his Duel Disk activates. “NO!”

“Soulburner!” Flame shouts.

Soulburner shakes himself off. 

“GO!” Flame shouts.

“Right!” Soulburner gasps.

He jumps on his board and the two rise high, watching the infected Duelist decimate his friend in one turn. 

Then two Duelists appear on the horizon, barrelling towards them, with the same substance over their bodies. “Duel me, Duel me, Duel me!”

“We need to log out!” Soulburner growls.

“Get on with it then!” Flame snaps. “We can’t afford to hesitate!”

Soulburner logs out.

Takeru wakes up in the back of Shoichi’s truck, stumbling out of it. “What’s happening in LINK VRAINS?”

Shoichi scowls. “I don’t know!”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Yusaku mutters, typing away as fast as he can.

Ai sobs as he sings. “This is the end… Hold your breath and count to ten…”

Roboppi joins in. “Feel the earth move and then… Hear my heart burst again-”

“Is this really the time?” Flame scolds them.

Ai and Roboppi snicker innocently.

“I got a video!” Shoichi calls.

Takeru leans on his seat and holds his Duel Disk up so Flame can watch.

It’s Brave Max, streaming live. “Do not come to LINK VRAINS! People are tipping over coughing when they lose a Duel and then a virus is attacking and infecting them! The viruses double if there’s lots of people around and they infect anyone they can touch!”

“It’s the cough!” A centar pushes Brave Max out of the way, screaming at the camera. “The people who were coughing in LINK VRAINS last week are the ones tipping over! If you coughed in LINK VRAINS do not log in, I repeat do not log in-”

“Duel me, Duel me, Duel me!” A witch cackles, her eyes pink, her irises black, covered in lightening bolts of the substance. “Join us, join us, join us!”

The centaur and Brave Max scream and take off running.

The screen switches to an eagle. “It’s absolute havoc here in LINK VRAINS.”

“Tell us something we don’t know.” Ai mutters.

Yusaku stands up suddenly. “We need to regroup with our allies. Kusanagi, can you locate Blue Girl and Revolver?”

“On it.” Kusanagi nods. “Scanning LINK VRAINS for them now.”

Takeru bites his lip as he watches the people get infected and the chaos spread. 

What the Hell is happening to LINK VRAINS?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Promotion Post https://loganelfreeces.tumblr.com/post/619649925876269056/vrains-fall-chapter-1-fullmetaldude1


End file.
